In the second column, Massachusetts Highway administrator Frank DePaola insists that, “If you have traffic, and you want to relieve it, you have to find road capacity.” While DePaola’s sentiment is understandable, it has been proven time and time again to be false. In fact, studies consistently show that increasing road capacity creates additional incentives for people to drive and thus does little to decrease traffic in the long run.

South Boston and the waterfront have the potential to be a model for sustainable urban planning in the 21st century. Making the area more car-friendly isn’t part of that model. Instead, the city should develop a true bus rapid transit network to link burgeoning job corridors, which will speed commutes, reduce traffic, and increase opportunity for Bostonians to access the jobs of tomorrow.